Quadrucci W/ Squash Blossoms & Zucchini

Recipes

Aug 5

A fabulous and unique pasta dish sure to impress your next dinner party guests. This dish uses a fresh cut square pasta, squash blossoms & zucchini and a dash of saffron cream to create a flavorful, warm and vibrant dish worthy of a final summer dinner on your patio.

At the heart of this dish is quadrucci, a lesser-known but beloved shape in the Italian pasta canon. Traditionally used in brodo (broth) across Northern & Central Italy. Its name comes from quadru meaning square, and though humble in origin, quadrucci has a wonderful ability to catch sauce!

In this dish, they’re tossed with sautéed zucchini and squash blossoms, a pairing that’s as symbolic as it is seasonal.

Here’s why: zucchini plants grow with both male and female flowers. The female blossoms sit directly behind the fruit - they’re the ones that go on to produce the vegetable.

The male blossoms, on the other hand, grow on slender stems and serve primarily to pollinate. In this dish, we honor both sides of the plant (no waste in an Italian kitchen): the fruit of the female, and the male blossom.

you can generally find squash blossoms at your local farmers market!

Both are folded into a saffron cream sauce, infused with what’s often called the “red gold of Sardinia.” Hand harvested from the crocus flowers, saffron is one of Italy’s most treasured spices. A little goes a long way - just a few threads can transform a dish with its warm, earthy aroma and golden hue. Saffron has long been used in everything from pastas to breads and cheeses, a staple in every Sardinian kitchen.

The result is a dish that feels very rooted in tradition yet made for the moment - light, fragrant and only here for the summer!

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh quadrucci pasta
1 Tbsp. butter
1 shallot (minced)
12 squash blossoms, stems & inner core removed. cut into long strips
6 oz. fresh cream
8-10 saffron threads, dissolved into 1/2 oz. boiling water
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups zucchini, small dice (the smaller the zucchini the better)
Grated parmigiano reggiano
Salt & Pepper
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Directions:

Begin boiling your pasta water. 4 quarts of boiling water per pound of pasta. Add 2 Tbsp. salt to water.
Take a small amount of pasta water and add to a glass bowl alongside 8-10 saffron threads. Set aside.
In a skillet large enough for the whole dish, fry the zucchini in olive oil until brown. Add salt & pepper. Remove from pan & set aside.
In the same pan, gently cook shallots in butter with about 2 oz. of water to prevent browning.
When shallot water has evaporated, fry the squash blossom with the shallots.
Add dissolved saffron water to the cream and stir. Add the saffron cream to the squash blossom pan, hear & set aside.
Cook the quadrucci in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving some of the pasta cooking liquid.
Toss quadrucci with zucchini, the saffron cream, some pasta water, a dash of olive oil and a couple tablespoons of parmigiano reggiano. Toss well to blend the sauce.
Add fresh chiffonade of basil.
Pour into serving bowl, bring blossoms to the top for color and garnish with a small sprig of basil.
Serve grated parm on the side!